Taste Life Blog

What do you serve your first coach you have not even talked to in five years?  I wanted something quick so I would not have to spend lots of time in the kitchen. This salad was perfect as it was quickly prepared ahead of time, was healthy and screamed, “Mary Ann Edberg I love you!”  This was a one of our original recipes for our 5 Ingredients for Healthy Living cookbook. My sister Laurie and I tested it several times and the last version had  blanched snowpeas. Not enough sweet. Kiwis did the trick. If I was creating a 6 ingredient recipe I, would toss in a handful of blueberries.

3 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1/4 cup lemonade
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 kiwi, peeled and sliced
1 pound mixed salad greens

Combine 1 1/4 cups strawberries, lemonade and oil in blender and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside. In a large bowl combine greens, remaining strawberries and kiwis. Add dress and toss to coat.  Makes 4 side salads.

Nothing says summer like strawberries. These little heart shaped beauties contain phenols which make them heart protective, an anti-cancer fruit and an anti – inflammatory. Triple benefits! Pretty amazing for one little bite of red.

A study reported in the Archives of Ophthalmology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration which is the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.

Here are few ideas to that our family uses to make our meals “berry” healthy. Get it!

• Toss a few strawberries in a blender with yogurt and banana and protein powder.
• Or toss in a blender with some tofu and a banana for a Strawberry Banana Shake.
• Top your morning cereal with strawberries.
• Clean strawberries and keep them in the fridge in an opaque container. Eat them plain, splash with balsamic vinegar or a sprinkle of sugar.
• Toss into your favorite green salad or your favorite fruit salad.
• Karan from my dinner club loves Strawberry Soup.